Edward Gough Whitlam was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being the head of a reformist and socially progressive government that ended with his controversial dismissal by the then-governor-general of Australia, Sir John Kerr, at the climax of the 1975 constitutional crisis. Whitlam remains the only Australian prime minister to have been removed from office by a governor-general.
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the federal executive government. Under the principles of responsible government, the prime minister is both responsible to and a member of the Commonwealth Parliament. The current prime minister is Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party, who assumed the office on 23 May 2022.
Francis Daniel Crean was an Australian politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1951 to 1977, representing the Labor Party. He was a minister in the Whitlam government, including as Treasurer from 1972 to 1974 and the fifth deputy prime minister for a few months in 1975.
Sir Billy Mackie Snedden, was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party from 1972 to 1975. He was also a cabinet minister from 1964 to 1972, and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1976 to 1983.
John Douglas Anthony was an Australian politician. He served as leader of the National Party of Australia from 1971 to 1984 and was the second and longest-serving deputy prime minister, holding the position under John Gorton (1971), William McMahon (1971–1972) and Malcolm Fraser (1975–1983).
Lance Herbert BarnardAO was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1974 and held senior ministerial office in the Whitlam government, most notably as the third deputy prime minister of Australia from 1972 to 1974.
Lionel Frost BowenAC was an Australian politician. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1977 to 1990 and served as the sixth deputy prime minister of Australia in the Hawke government from 1983 to 1990.
Donald Leslie Chipp, AO was an Australian politician who was the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats, leading the party from 1977 to 1986. He began his career as a member of the Liberal Party, winning election to the House of Representatives in 1960 and serving as a government minister for a cumulative total of six years. Chipp left the Liberals in 1977 and was soon persuaded to lead a new party, the Democrats who, he famously proclaimed in 1980, would "keep the bastards honest". He was elected to the Senate on 10 December 1977 and led the party at four federal elections. From 1983 it held the sole balance of power in the Senate.
The first Whitlam Ministry (Labor) was the 47th ministry of the Government of Australia. Often known as the "two-man Ministry" or the "Duumvirate", it was led by the country's 21st Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam. The first Whitlam ministry succeeded the McMahon Ministry, which dissolved on 5 December 1972 following the federal election that took place on 2 December which saw Labor defeat William McMahon's Liberal–Country Coalition. The ministry was replaced by the second Whitlam ministry on 19 December 1972.
The third Whitlam ministry (Labor) was the 49th ministry of the Government of Australia. It was led by the country's 21st Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam. The third Whitlam ministry succeeded the Second Whitlam ministry, which dissolved on 12 June 1974 following the federal election that took place in May. The ministry was replaced by the First Fraser Ministry on 11 November following the dismissal of the Whitlam government by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr.
The first Fraser ministry was the 50th ministry of the Government of Australia. It was led by Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser. The first Fraser ministry succeeded the Third Whitlam ministry, which dissolved on 11 November following the dismissal of the Whitlam government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr. As such, it was a caretaker ministry until a federal election could take place. To date, it is the last ministry not to be split between a Cabinet and outer ministry. In the event, the Coalition was ultimately elected on 13 December 1975, and this ministry was replaced by the second Fraser ministry on 22 December 1975.
Douglas McClelland is an Australian former politician who served as a Senator for New South Wales from 1962 to 1987, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He was Minister for the Media (1972–1975) and Special Minister of State (1975) in the Whitlam government, and ended his political career as President of the Senate (1983–1987). He resigned from the Senate to become High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1987–1991). McClelland is the last surviving minister who served in the Second Whitlam ministry, and is the earliest elected Senator and federal Labor parliamentarian still alive.
The Whitlam government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party. The government commenced when Labor defeated the McMahon government at the 1972 federal election, ending a record 23 years of continuous Coalition government. It was terminated by Governor-General Sir John Kerr following the 1975 constitutional crisis and was succeeded by the Fraser government—the sole occasion in Australian history when an elected federal government was dismissed by the governor-general.
Charles Keith Jones AO was an Australian politician and government minister.
The 1974 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution. The incumbent Labor Party led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam defeated the opposition Liberal–Country coalition led by Billy Snedden. This marked the first time that a Labor leader won two consecutive elections.
The 1972 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election, as well as a single Senate seat in Queensland. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister William McMahon, was defeated by the opposition Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam. Labor's victory ended 23 years of successive Coalition governments that began in 1949 and started the three-year Whitlam Labor Government.
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 30 March 1974 to elect all 51 members to the Legislative Assembly and 15 members to the 30-seat Legislative Council. The one-term Labor government, led by Premier John Tonkin, was defeated by the Liberal Party, led by Opposition Leader Charles Court.
The McMahon government was the period of federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister William McMahon of the Liberal Party. It was made up of members of a coalition between the Liberal Party and the Country Party, led by Doug Anthony as Deputy Prime Minister. The McMahon government lasted from March 1971 to December 1972, being defeated at the 1972 federal election. Writing for the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Julian Leeser describes McMahon's prime ministership as "a blend of cautious innovation and fundamental orthodoxy".
The Lewis–Cutler ministry or First Lewis ministry was the 68th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 33rd Premier, Tom Lewis, of the Liberal Party in coalition with the Country Party, led by Sir Charles Cutler. It was the first of two occasions when Lewis was Premier; and the seventh and final occasion when Cutler served as Deputy Premier.
The Shadow Ministry of Billy Snedden was the opposition Liberal shadow ministry of Australia from 21 December 1972 to 21 March 1975, opposing Gough Whitlam's Labor ministry. From 1974, it also included members of the Country Party.
